Rick Marsi Online

Nature Sightings and Photos for July, August and September

2000 - 2010

JULY

July 1, 06 – Many birds scolding broad-winged hawk in woods by side of house. Photographed male and female widow skimmers at pond. Observed male common green darner.
Found nest of juncos five feet high in juniper by mother’s house. Flapping young sound ready to fledge.
July 1, 07 - Robins are busting out of nest on the house. Every day, their increasing mass forces them father above the nest edge. I photograph Compton tortoiseshell butterfly. 
July 1, 08 - On the river... Several buntings singing. Also a number of warbling vireos. Only one yellow-throated vireo heard. One red-bellied woodpecker calls. Hen common merganser with 11 little ones. Four young hooded mergansers, able to fly, floating along by themselves. Several families of rough-winged swallows. One group perches on dead overhanging branches. Yellow beak linings of fledglings visible. An adult swoops in from the river and feeds one bird on the wing. Five kingfishers within 50 yards of one another. Four spotted sandpipers together. A lot of family action. Discovered kingfisher burrows in high bank. Three holes within ten feet. Many waxwings hawking insects above riffles.
July 1, 09 - Awoke to see one fawn chasing another through the back yard. On the river... Black-billed cuckoo calling from large black willow. Red osier dogwood in flower along bank. On roadsides ... wild parsnip and cow parsnip (huge with purple rounded flower head). Many skipper butterflies feeding on large blooms of red clover.
Eight-inch milk snake on driveway. Disappeared into hole in the blacktop.
July 1, 10 - At CV State Park. Photographed painted turtle, kingfisher, Canada lily, black cohosh and several damsel flies. Observed female rose-breasted grosbeak feeding two fledged young. At Upper Lisle, photographed honey bees on milkweed and swamp milkweed, more Canada lilies, horse nettle, nanny berries, tall meadow rue.

Canada Lilies
Rick Marsi photo

July 2, 07 - Red admiral butterfly by side of the driveway.
July 2, 08 - Hen wild turkey sighted by side of the road. She was pulling at the the tops of two-foot high grasses there, stripping the seeds. Below her were young turkeys, eating them up. Found two singing black-throated blue warblers in woods with dense undergrowth near Sanitaria Springs. Photographed large clump of jack-o-lantern mushrooms at base of logged stump. Two great looks at scarlet tanagers also. Went from there to Chenango Valley State Park to find singing blackburnian warbler in very tall white oaks. Had great look at hermit thrush on the ground, twitching its tail. Hermit also was singing.
July 2, 09 - Wood thrush singing in back woods - the only thrush nesting here this summer.
July 2, 10 - Wood thrush singing in back woods! See last year at this date. It sang most of the day. Also for the first time this year, a male oriole appeared in the yard. It scolded a bit, hung around for 10 minutes and departed. White admiral, tiger swallowtail and black swallowtail butterflies flitting through yard.

July 3, 06 – Family of five blue jays at feeder. Young fluttering and begging.
July 3, 07 - Wood thrush singing in back woods at 6:30 a.m. Family of wrens in yard. Young have just fledged. Their gapes are still yellow. They already have the short stiff tails of adults. The band moves about, with everyone uttering the typical wren chattering sound.
July 3, 08 - Two hen turkeys with five young at front of driveway. Young fly across the road - weakly. They are softball-sized. On the river... Clump of Canada lily on bank. Numerous square-stemmed monkey flowers on bank also. Mature bald eagle circles overhead, offering a great view. Juvenile eagle also sighted. red-winged blackbird attacks bald eagle as it soars high overhead. Doe with three fawns sighted. Baltimore oriole feeding young. At home... northern pearly-eye butterfly at woods edge. Black swallowtail pupa I've been keeping emerges as perfect adult. I photograph on bee balm before it flies away.
July 3, 09 - Juncos have begun building a nest four feet high in clematis vine growing on side of the house. Picked black trumpet mushrooms in same spots they've appeared in previous years.
July 3, 10 - Bluejays have fledged their young. The young birds are constantly squawking for food.

July 4 – Doe with two fawns. She makes the creaky sound when they stray to far
July 4, 06 – Carolina wren singing in yard. Heard a wren scolding last evening, but this morning the Carolina is in full form. Found many Horn of Plenty of black trumpet mushrooms under large oaks on bank of stream near fire ring. Photographed them and also a Red Russula. Pair of Broadwings overhead.
July 4, 07 - Male Baltimore oriole appears in yard. Haven't seen or heard one seen one here all spring or summer. It may be attracted by the honeysuckle berries, which are ripe and abundant.
July 4, 08 - Picked some black trumpet mushrooms in the woods (Craterellus cornucopoides) - very good eating. Good rains this spring and early summer may portend a good mushroom season. A large shelf fungus also has appeared at the base of large white oak at woods edge.
July 4, 09 - At a friend's house in Susquehanna County, Pa.: Indigo bunting and yellowthroat singing in clearing at driveway entrance. Hermit thrushes singing in forested interior. Five adult male rose-breasted grosbeaks at sunflower feeders. Sapsucker drumming loudly.
July 4, 10 - Male cardinal bathing in our small garden pond.

July 5, 06 – Monarda begins blooming. Delphinium very close. Purple clematis at peak. Crimson star clematis just peeking.
July 5, 07 - Broad-winged hawk seen soaring above and in woods by the yard. Painted Lady butterfly nectaring on mint in side yard. Great spangled fritillary doing the same on salvia. Red admiral still hanging around at low end of driveway. Observed hummingbird drinking from five-foot-tall monardas in side garden. Juvenile wrens still in yard.
July 5, 08 - Wood thrush singing in woods above house at first light.
July 5, 09 - Two eggs in junco nest in clematis. One laid yesterday; one today.
July 5, 10 - Phoebes are actively coming and going from their nest on the house.

July 6 – Watched wildlife for three hours from deck by bedroom.  Doe with single fawn. Made the creaky sound to let it know it had strayed too far. Hummingbird buzzes the petunias. Robins feeding 3-4 babies. Family of 4-5 juncos flitting about. Family of 3-4 titmice at sunflower. Sapsucker drumming and calling. Indigo bunting singing. Veery and wood thrush. Goldfinch female tearing strands from basketball net for nesting material. Loud turkey clucking in morning. Tom and bearded hen appear later in morning. Leopard frog in pond. Chimney swift overhead. Waxwings in honeysuckle.
July 6, 06 – Chickadee fledglings chasing parents around.
July 6, 06 - Photograph great spangled fritillary. Encounter hen turkey and a dozen tiny youngsters in woods below house. Also spot a ruffed grouse perched on a dead limb in clearing. Hear what I think may be juvenile sharp-shinned hawk in same area.
July 6, 08 - Morning on river at Moore Park. Family of 10 common mergansers, still being shepherded about by mother. Also four young hooded mergansers, on their own and able to fly. Observed large accipiter, probably Cooper's hawk, fly across river, and then, an hour later, fly back. Swallows harassed it on the return trip. Young black bear ambles through yard in late afternoon - around 100 pounds, sleek and limber. Wandered about in the upper woods for a while before disappearing.
July 6, 09 - Black swallowtail and American lady butterflies sighted, Swallowtail was a fly-by; lady was nectaring on yellow blooms of a rock garden flower.

July 7 – Turkey gobbles in morning, once. Robins busy feeding four nestlings. Bunting singing.
July 7, 06 – Hermit thrush singing in woods behind house. Male RB grosbeak at feeder.
July 7, 07 - Robin parents carrying on at great length from 5 to 6 a.m. Chipping sparrow and wren youngsters still traveling about yard and periphery in groups. Tanager singing. Chicory gracing local roadsides. Hummingbirds feeding on large monardas. 
July 7, 08 - Male hummingbird at monarda. Black swallowtail at butterfly bush. Compton's tortoise shell lands on house. Observe pair of Baltimore butterflies in courtship flight over clover meadow.
July 7, 10. CV State Park. Red dogbane berries (red) and wild sarsparilla berries (purple) have ripened. Several veeries still singing loudly, despite record heat. Three great spangled fritillaries on coneflowers. Tiger swallowtail and hummingbird sphinx moth on butterfly bush.

Tiger Swallowtail
Rick Marsi photo

July 8, 06 – Black trumpets still abundant at far stream. Beautiful lavender coral fungi on stump fence trail near spreading white oak and fire ring. Doe with tiny fawn in yard. Wood thrush singing at dusk – distant above us.
July 8, 07 - Searched for black trumpet mushrooms in same spot mentioned above, but found nothing. The ground is too dry at this point.
July 8, 08 - Collect buds of day lily for eating. Also collect flowers of elderberry for fritters. Tall meadow rue and daisy fleabane are impressive along roadsides. Bluejay young begging food (wings fluttering) from parents on branch of white pine.
 
July 9, 07 - Encountered two red-eyed vireos scolding something in woods. As I walked closer, a broad-winged hawk flew from one tree and glided 40 yards to another. The vireos continued scolding. Watched our male robin take two extended baths in our small garden pond. Also noted a small meadow frog has moved into the pond.
July 9, 08 - On the river... Three vultures over the water, joined by three ring-billed gulls. Pileated woodpecker and sapsucker in my woods, twenty yards apart, at the same time.
July 9, 09 - Least and common terns fishing actively in Three Mile Harbor, East End Long Island. Family of osprey circling overhead - two young and their parents.
July 9, 10 - CV State Park. Photographed Marsh Skullcap, Allegheny Monkey Flower and Heliborine. Observed Hermit Thrush and Pileated Woodpecer on Oak Island. High bush blueberries are ripe at the park.

Monkey Flower
Rick Marsi photo

July 10, 06 – Phoebe sitting on nest for second nesting. Gypsy moths flying about in numbers. Wood thrush singing close in back early morning.
July 10, 07 - Looked for any sign of gypsy moths or forest tent caterpillars and could find none in my woods.
July 10, 08 - On the river... Broad-winged hawk flies across river, carrying something golf ball sized. Killdeer on the gravel bar seem very upset. Five fly away, but we see no juveniles. Lovely mats of river grass anchored to the bottom in four feet of water. Small yellow flowers - six spear-shaped, down-turned petals, with bright yellow center petals sticking straight up. Will try to identify. Several sighting of hooded mergansers in flight. Male bluebird perched on five-foot high stub at river's edge.
July 10, 09 - Tenting in Montauk yard surrounded by thorny tangles. The loudest morning singers: Carolina wren, robin and catbird.

July 11, 04 - Yearling bear at hummingbird feeder off screen porch. Reluctant to leave, despite shouts and thumping. Cinnamon muzzle.
July 11, 06 – Mourning cloak at bottom of driveway.
July 11, 08 - Spotted a  pileated woodpecker working an aspen tree, about 20 feet high, in woods behind house. Filtered sun through the woods shined on its red crest. As I walked closer, I noted another flash of red about a foot below the woodpecker. It was a second pileated on the same tree, but not hammering. It then flew weakly to a nearby tree. I surmise it was a juvenile watching and learning how to find ants in a tree from its parent.
July 11, 09 - At a friend's house... Young yellow-bellied sapsuckers coming to suet, along with downy and hairy woodpeckers.
July 11, 10 - Blue jay adults and young in yard and at bird baths all day. Wood thrush sings about three times in back woods at 7 a.m. Tanager and yellowthroat singing. Great Crested Flycatchers calling. Spooked a pileated woodpecker off tree 15 feet away while doing yard work at the edge of the woods. Fritillaries and tiger swallowtails at coneflowers and butterfly bush all day.

July 12, 06 - Watched a blue jay at feeder utter a perfect imitation of the high-pitched note of a broad-winged hawk. Yellowthroat singing around the house. I easily spished it into view among thorn apple branches.
July 12, 07 - Pair of broad-winged hawks circling and calling overhead. Many dark skippers nectaring on lavender.
July 12, 08 - A great butterfly day in the yard. Three great spangled fritillaries fluttering about pink monarda. Tiger swallowtail. black swallowtail, American painted lady and Baltimore also observed.
July 12, 09 - Hummingbirds feeding on monarda and trumpet vine - more than at feeders.
July 12, 10 - Two recently fledged Baltimore orioles in yard, one pecking at red fruits on viburnum. Photographed bumble bee on coneflowers.

Bee on Coneflower

July 13, 06  - Blue jay at feeder makes perfect imitation of kak-kak-kak call of Cooper’s Hawk.
July 13, 07 - Floated the river at Smallmouth Run. Banks covered with pale pink flowers of bindweed, bright yellow of tall clovers and rust-colored stalks of curly dock. Birds still singing: song sparrow, indigo bunting, yellowthroat. Goldfinches calling. A flock of 20 red-winged blackbirds flew up from tall grass. Looked like they were mostly adult males. First flocking of blackbirds I've observed this summer. Roadsides thick with abundant day lilies - a great year for them. At least 8 tiger swallowtails fluttering around boat launch and two red admirals seen along river. One was drinking from muddy soil at river's edge. The other was fluttering near patch of nettles (host plant for eggs and larvae.)
July 13, 08 - Observed eastern comma butterfly in woods at Choconut, Pa. It settled on needles of a white pine, closed its wings and disappeared - perfect camouflage. Also had a great look at a wood frog - surprised from its lair at the end of a plastic pipe lying by a garage in the woods. Body was as pale as desert sand, with pale yellow-green flanks. Tell-tale black mask was striking.
July 13, 09 - Junco incubating four eggs in clematis. Allows us to approach with two feet without flushing.
July 13, 10 - CV State Park. Photographed Swamp Loosestrife (Water Willow), Smooth False Foxglove and Button Bush. Four juvenile orioles in trumpet vine on front porch.

Button Bush

 At CV State Park -photographed two lovely dragonflies, both male: Racket-tailed Emerald and Slaty Skimmer.

Slaty Skimmer

July 17, 06 – 95 degrees. Great spangled fritillary on bee balm at mother’s.
July 17, 07 - Black swallowtail in the yard. Hummingbird visits red geraniums in window box outside my office.
July 17, 08 - Hummingbird sphinx moth at monarda in yard. Sapsucker and pileated both drumming in morning. On the river... A dozen hood mergansers together. Large snapping turtle floating on surface of deep pool. Let us get 15 feet away before submerging.
July 17, 09 - Photographed great-spangled fritillary on purple coneflowers.

July 18, 04 - On the river at Willet. Beds and beds of Jerusalem artichoke.
July 18, 06 – Captured a question mark butterfly in yard. It first landed on Jan’s car as she backed out; then on a towel hanging on line. Clear “silvered” question mark clear on hind wing. Photographed great spangled frit at bee balm at mother’s and here. Mourning cloak also still here. At Brier Hill Pond, photographed small red dragonfly with bright red body and less red thorax. Also photod small dragon with blue abdomen, striped body and green head. Picked another big bag of black trumpets.
July 18, 07 - Two red-eyed vireos scolding a blue jay high in red maple by driveway. No young vireos in sight, but there must have been some nearby. Blue jay is seen as a threat to eggs and young. First hummingbird sphinx moth sighted, feeding on monarda blooms.
July 18, 08 - Tanager singing briefly at 7 a.m. Junco chases chipmunk under garden cart and won't let it out. Every time the chippy tries to come out, the junco chases after it. Junco babies are still in the nest by house. Both parents actively feeding.
Read article that says hermit thrushes are increasing while other thrushes are dropping in many parts of their range. Also – take yellow away from hummer feeders and yellow jackets won’t come as often.
July 18, 09 - Junco still incubating four eggs in clematis.
July 18, 10 - Lily Lake at CV State Park. Photographed Ruby Meadowhawk and  Chalk-fronted Corporal dragonflies, plus gorgeous White Admiral butterfly.

Ruby Meadowhawk

July 19, 06 – Smallmouth run. River cool, flowing and beautiful. Ostrich and sensitive ferns coming back from the flood. Caught two nice bass – 13.5 and 15.5 inches on hula popper. Queen Anne’s Lace abundant on roadsides. A good number of monarchs and tiger swallowtails about. Mother merganser and 8 flightless young.
July 19, 07 - Great-crested flycatcher calls briefly here. Haven't heard it for several weeks. 
July 19, 08 - Periodic cicadas in full voice, and have been for almost two weeks.
July 19, 09 - Removed two dozen Japanese beetles from monarda, potato vine and Rose of Sharon.
July 19, 10 - Family of grackles appears in yard and at feeder - very rare for here. Phoebes are starting to leave nest. Blue jay family is constantly in and around the yard.
 
July 20, 07 - Coneflowers blooming in garden are attracting many butterflies.
July 20, 08 - Japanese beetles having another good year. Many found on monarda flowers. Impressive numbers of daddy longlegs in the forest, and everywhere else.
July 20, 09 - Very quiet, foggy morning, with only red-eyed vireo singing. Chipping sparrows nestlings have fledged. I hear their "tsee, tsee" calls through the day.

July 21, 06 – Two big bucks together in back woods. Big racks in velvet.
July 21, 07 - Carolina grasshoppers beginning to appear around the yard. Juncos fledge from nest in clematis vine. Parents seen all day continuing to forage for them, their mouths full of food. However, no fledglings sighted
July 21, 08  Three raptors over the house at once: A vulture circling low and a broad-winged hawk harassing a red-tailed hawk above that. Both these hawks were calling during their encounter.
July 21, 09 - On the river... Got caught in the rain, but the air was warm, so no problem. Despite the showers, I got good looks at a pair of kingfishers, one double-crested cormorant, a squawking green heron. Plus on the bank, two bucks - both fork horns in velvet - were feeding on vegetation. I got very close. It must have been "buck in velvet" day. On the way home, another buck with the same antler configuration crossed the road in front of me.
July 21, 10 - A family of blue jays is visiting the sunflower feeder daily. Sometimes, three or four are clambering around on it at once. The young jays are a constant presence in and around the yard. Finally got around to photographing one today.

Jay at Feeder

July 22, 10 - Hummingbird nectaring at Trumper Vine. Juvenile Scarlet Tanger visits honeysuckle again.

July 23, 07 - Adult broad-winged hawk and two young seen in nearby forested neighborhood.
Parents perched on telephone pole; two youngsters in a pine tree.
July 23, 08 - After heavy rain, I find a nice handful of golden chanterelle mushrooms in woods. Parent juncos hunted food and brought it to the nest during the heaviest downpours.
July 23, 09 - Juncos feeding tiny nestlings in the clematis vine. Junco trill still is the first song at dawn, followed by a cardinal whistle. Friend reported seeing first monarch butterfly today. Still haven't seen one myself.
July 23, 10 - At CV State Park, photographed Maidenhair Fern on Chenango Lake trail. Also found thistle in bloom, plus Horse Balm and Christmas Fern. On Bog Trail, heard Hermit Thrush singing and Brown Creeper calling. At home, cicadas calling loudly.

Maidenhair Fern
Rick Marsi photo

July 24, 07 - A number of Japanese beatles on rose-of-sharon. They are having a banner year.
July 24, 08 - Walked a meadow observing butterfly activity. It was abundant. First monarchs are active. Also multiple tiger swallowtails, great spangled fritillaries and a white admiral. Clover, spotted knapweed, black-eyed Susans were popular feeding plants.
July 24, 09 - Three great spangled fritillary butterflies in yard, feeding on purple coneflowers. Cicadas calling briefly.
July 24, 10. At CV State Park, photographed Maidenhair Fern and Horse Balm.

July 25, 06 – Two hummingbird moths at monarda at mom’s. Screech owls in the night. Before the whinny sound, they were making a soft high single note call.
July 25, 07 - Queen Anne's lace abundant on roadsides, along with chicory.
July 25, 08 - At Jones Park... Louisianna waterthrush still active and singing. Also heard hermit thrush and blue-headed vireo. Fleeting glimpse of winter wren. Picked a few golden chanterelles. Identified sweet cicely by side of trail. Fern-like leaves and gone-to-seed. At home... Male junco chased a chipmunk across the driveway and across my foot. The junco's wings touched my leg. Junco nest is very active, with nestlings making a buzzing sound each time parents come with food.
July 25, 09 - Female pileated woodpecker flew across back yard and landed on dead aspen. The tree is still upright. Pileated proceeded to whack away at the tree for five minutes, tearing big chunks of dead wood away. I have heard quite a bit of pileated calling this week. Young certainly are out and about, so this may be the family keeping track of one another.
July 25, 10 - On the river... Floated under a juvenile Bald Eagle, perched 40 feet above us. Several clumps of Cardinal Flower along the bank, as well as Jerusalem Artichoke and Sneezeweed.

July 26, 06 – Screech owls again - this time around 9:30 p.m.
July 26, 07 - Monarda staring to fade a bit, but butterfly bush coming on to attract hummingbird moth, bees and butterflies.
July 26, 08 - Several chimney swifts flying high above the house. Four or five cedar waxwings eating honeysuckle berries behind split rail fence. Nettle flowers in bloom.  Male scarlet tanager appears in ash tree by driveway. Also in the tree - four or so recently fledged tanagers. The male kept watch until the young ones flew into the woods, at which time he followed. Several gs fritillaries feeding on butterfly bush and monarda.
July 26, 09 - Yellow-shafted flicker on lawn this morning. First sighting here in weeks. As many as four fritillaries on coneflowers.
July 26, 10 - Junco is building a nest under thick potato vine in oak barrel planted, side yard. We can't see the nest, but a bird flies out whenever we get too close.

July 27 – Picked up three monarch larvae in Owego. Kayaked Smallmouth Run. One 13.5-inch bass. River slightly high and cold. Gauge at 1.4 feet. Song sparrows singing vigorously – a couple of them throwing new syllables into their songs. Picked a few day lily buds but most have gone to flower or seed. Pretty combo of queen anne’s lace and black-eyed susans along road.
July 27, 07 - Broad-winged hawk perched low at curve of driveway. Takes off and sails across the road to lower woods. Wood thrush singing in nearby wooded neighborhood.
July 27, 08 - First junco fledges from nest by the house at 7 p.m. Barely able to fly, it hops/flutters under the deck. Once again, an adult junco chases a chipmunk off the driveway and under a shrub.
July 27, 09 - Pair of meadow frogs in our small garden pond. The woods is filled with the buzzings of recent fledglings.
July 27, 10 - At CV State Park, photographed Eastern Pond Hawk, plus flower vine called Ground Nut. Hermit Thrush still singing.

Ground Nut
Rick Marsi photo

July 28, 06 – Harvested five pounds of golden chanterelles on same spot we found them in two years ago.
July 28, 07 - Family of seven chickadees on and around a niger feeder in yard. Kak, kak, kak call in woods sounds like juvenile accipiter. Heard the same call in lower woods several days ago, where I suspect a sharp-shinned hawk is nesting.
July 28, 08 - Several young accipiters (the size of sharp-shinned, but couldn't get a positive look) calling and flying about in lower woods. See the entry above, describing this happening same date last year. Two hen turkeys by the roadside, with just two grapefruit-sized young.
July 28, 09 - On the river... Family of four hooded mergansers flew over. One wood duck calling "who-eek." Green heron juvenile and adult perched together. Many waxwings and numerous great blue herons. Heard at least 6 indigo buntings singing, plus 3 or 4 yellow-throated vireos and a warbling vireo. Jewelweed or touch-me-not starting to flower. Today we saw the less common variety with yellow, not orange, flowers.
July 28, 10 - Two juvenile cardinals appear under feeder, a first for this year. Their black bills differentiate them from adult females.

July 29, 06 – Observed young hummer perched on garden fence at side of garage, in front of large red monardas. Tame. Got quite close for photos. Then female arrived and buzzed around for a moment. Youngster chirped at here. Female flew and away and youngster flew weakly to shrub clump beyond viburnums. Five minutes later it was back, perched on the fence. More close photos. It has found a perch it likes. 
July 29, 07 - Floated smallmouth run. River gauge was 1.3 feet. Caught and released five bass, three of which ran 12 - 14 inches, and a fourth around 15 inches. Healthy and beautiful fish. Birds sighted: kingfisher, spotted sandpiper, yellowthroat, kingbird, brown thrasher, song sparrow. Several monarchs fluttering at river's edge where its bank is covered with flowers. Received some remarkable e-mail photos of a bobcat, taken July 14 in South Montrose, Pa., 25 miles south of here. The cat had walked out into a yard!
July 29, 08 - On the river... Flushed a juvenile great horned owl from tall silver maple at river's edge. It flew 100 yards downriver and landed in another maple. Jays and robins immediately descended to harass it. I floated under the perched owl and looked up with binocs. The owl was looking straight down at me. Owl almost fully feathered but not quite. Ear tufts a bit shorter than adult. Rounded another bend to hear a bald eagle calling. Saw an osprey perched in a tree across from the calling eagle. Then the adult eagle flew to the osprey's tree and began calling again, this time lowering its head and moving it back and forth. The osprey departed. Then the eagle just perched contentedly, 30 yards away, in the open, and only 20 feet high. At least 6 indigo buntings heard singing. Flock of a dozen rough-winged swallows hunting over riffle. Several similar-sized flocks of waxwings hunting insects over other riffles. Two sightings of cardinal flower.
July 29, 09 – Towhee calling in yard. Haven’t heard or seen one here in weeks. 
July 29, 10 - Observed 3-4 Great Egrets in wetland at Upper Lisle Wildlife Area. Eight or nine had been reported on Chenango River a week ago. Green-headed coneflower in bloom.

July 30 – Hermit thrush singing faintly in morning. Broad-wing circling and calling in mid-day. In front of clouds, then with sun as backdrop.
July 30, 07 - Family of jays in the yard. The jays have been absolutely quiet while getting their young to this stage. The young were making mewing sounds as they flew about with their parents.
July 30, 08 - House wren and Carolina wren singing at wood's edge this morning. Neither has been here all summer. Good look at two juvenile sharp-shinned hawks in lower. Perched, they show the straight, not rounded, tail that tells them apart from Cooper's hawks.
July 30, 10 - Two hen turkeys and 7 young visited the feeder. The young are grapefruit-sized.

July 31 – Turkey clucking loudly in woods at 7:30 p.m. – for more than 30 minutes. Finished dehydrating a nice batch of golden chanterelles. Screech owls again in the night – starting with the drawn out single note before going into the whinny.
July 31, 07 - Discovered cardinal nest five feet high in dense yew shrub by side of house. Tiny peeping sounds inside it. Also saw hen turkey with brood of young along the road. The youngsters now are the size of grapefruits. 
July 31, 09 – Juncos fledge from nest on a rainy but warm day. First bird flies into side yard, where both parents immediately attend it. Second bird flies directly onto screen door screen of breezeway. It clings there several seconds, then drops to the ground. Adult male is very agitated in tree above while this little drama plays out. First bird goes at 1:30 p.m. By 5 p.m. all four have vacated.
July 31, 10 - CV State Park. Several Hermit Thrushes singing. Photographed Water Lilies, so beautiful. Broad-winged Hawks calling and soaring overhead. On the road near home, a turkey hen with one youngster.

Water Lily
Rick Marsi photo

August 1, 06 – High of 95 degrees. Cicadas whining. Cut another large black birch from grove on lower parcel where many are dying.
August 1, 07 - American lady still in yard, as is great spangled fritillary. Monarch on coneflower, which has been attracting butterflies regularly.
August 1, 08 - On the river... I stop to photograph an especially beautiful cardinal flower. While standing by it, I hear the loud buzzing of hummingbird wings. The bird departs upon discovering me. After photographing the flower, I walk back to my kayak. As I get in I see the hummer return to the flower, and feed from every one of its dozens of flowers. Family of 12 common merganser juveniles still can't fly. Cabbage butterflies nectaring on blooming purple loosestrife.
August 1, 09 – Male junco returns to empty nest, perches on it, and calls. Phoebe has returned to the yard after weeks away. Getting ready for a second nesting? Here fritillaries and three tiger swallowtails on monarda and coneflowers. Gorgeous hummingbird moth at pink butterfly bush. Yellow and black, not the hummingbird look-alike moth.

August 2, 06 - All three of my monarch caterpillars have gone into chrysalis stage.
August 2, 07 - Peeping from young in cardinal nest at top of yew by house. Both parents actively feeding. Very hot weather brings the crickets out in force at night.
August 2, 08 - Juvenile cardinal lands on deck railing right outside window. Beak on juveniles is black, distinguishing them from females, which they resemble in plumage. Families of birds everywhere.

August 3, 06 – Red-breasted nuthatch calling in morning. Very hot – cicadas whine and lone cricket chirps.
August 3, 07 - Pair of juncos erupt from rhododendrons at my approach, then scold. A second nesting? During peak of mid-day heat, a red-eyed vireo begins singing.
August 3, 08 - I discover numerous bolete mushrooms in mature woods, mostly under big oaks. This is Boletus edulus, a choice wild edible. Also come upon four or five poisonous jack-o-lantern mushrooms.
August 3, 09 – Small batch of chanterelles discovered on truck path under large white oak.
August 3, 10 - At CV State Park. Photograph juvenile wood duck perched on log in shallow canal. Also observe Cucumber vine and lobelia in flower. Red and white admiral butterflies on sun-dappled woodland trail.

Greater Lobelia
Rick Marsi photo

August 4, 06 – Smallmouth Run river float. First summer osprey circling. Song sparrows continue singing along river – many pairs as I float along. Pale blue damselflies mate on my kayak. Young mergansers still can’t swim – stir up quite a wake as they motor downstream. Red-tail screams overhead – youngster following parent.
Here – Cooper’s Hawk calls like sapsucker circling low over pond.
August 4, 07 - Encountered a broad-winged hawk in lower woods. It flew to a branch where I could see it was holding prey that looked much larger than a mouse. It then flew to a tree farther away carrying the prey in its talons.
August 4, 08 - Sauteed my edible bolete mushroom - delicious.
August 4, 09 – On the river. Luxuriant beds of cardinal flower on banks below Lander’s Corners launch site. Most I have seen, perhaps due to the cool, rainy summer we’ve had. Low 80s with a strong south wind. Otselic at 1.8 following heavy rains several days ago. Caught five fish on crayfish: 8-inch perch, 6-inch rock bass, 7-inch and 10-inch smallmouth bass and a 17.5 inch walleye. Caught walleye in narrow channel near secret spot. Saw a splashy rise, cast to that spot and caught the fish on first cast.
August 4, 10 - Bird bath continues to attract visitors as warm, dry weather continues. Today, a male goldfinch perched on the edge and dipped down to drink three or four times before departing.

  
August 5, 06  - Hummingbird moth at petunias in back. Doe and two fawns in back yard for photos. Also photographed monarch chrysalises. Cut wood in lower woods. Tops of two Norway spruce had been snapped by violet thunderstorm mid-week. Top five feet knocked off. Loaded with cones. Heavy and green. Took home for photos. Also, a large limb from black birch knocked down and across trail. Photographed spruce cones and also cones and needles of larch.
Four chickadee young are always together. They like hanging out on the gutter in front of house, dropping in – and out of sight – to have a drink and then popping back. Four fledgling juncos also hang together. They are brown and streak-breasted like sparrow. Three jay young also hang together, often coming to the feeder in a group.
August 5, 07 - We continue to remove many Japanese beetles from foliage and flowers, most notably monarda and rose-of-sharon. However, there are no gypsy moth or tent forest caterpillar larvae in the oak trees.
August 5, 08 - On the river ... Flush a great horned owl while floating down a quiet side channel. Perched in high deciduous tree overhead. Flew off immediately. Six or seven clumps of cardinal flower in four mile stretch. Lovely clumps of green-headed coneflower also. Viceroy butterfly observed. Song sparrows, wood pewees, chickadees still singing. Sharp-shinned hawk fly high over the river. Floated by two bucks standing by the river. They looked identical - good-sized with nice antler racks in velvet. They bounded into brush when they saw us.
August 5, 09 – Visited 300-acre farm in Harpursville. Several phoebes perching on fence wires. Large flock of barn swallows hunting overhead in pasture. Osprey flies over hilltop pond.
August 5, 10 - First Monarch Butterfly of the season in yard. Three hen turkeys with 8 young at feeder.

August 6, 07 - Joe-pye-weed, vervain, black-eyed susans, chicory, jewelweed and evening primrose all in flower. Goldfinches very active now and should be nesting, because thistle is starting to go to seed. They use the fluffy parachute material attached to the seeds for nest lining.
August 6, 08 - A pair of chickadees chasing one another around inside basketball net on the driveway. E-mail from Tioga County resident reporting sighting of bobcat crossing road with gray squirrel in its mouth.
August 6, 10 - Active day at the butterfly bush, with Monarch, Tiger Swallowtail and Great Spangled Fritillary all sipping nectar.

Great Spangled Fritillary
Rick Marsi photo

August 7, 07 - River float at 7:30 a.m. Thick fog made several creatures less afraid at our approach by kayak. Doe and fawn stood on the bank watching us. Several green herons lingered on low branches at river's edge without flying away. Solitary sandpiper feeding along riverbank. Season's first migrating shorebird? Song sparrows, cardinal, yellow warbler still singing. Nine barn swallows hunting insects over the river. Monarch butterfly nectaring on purple loosestrife. Damselfly with black-tipped brown wings that featured a small white spot at the end of each wing.
August 7, 08 - Mourning cloak in the yard. Hummingbirds actively feeding on monarda.
August 7, 10 - Photographed damselfly at CV State Park. Head and thorax bright blue. Haven't identified it yet.

August 8, 07 - Loud "kak, kak, kak" in woods by bird feeders. Initially I think it is either a sharp-shinned or Cooper's haw. However, the birds continue feeding without alarm. Suddenly there are two blue jays at the feeder. I change my mind and figure one of them is imitating the hawk sound. Jays are great mimics and do several birds of prey very well. 
August 8, 08 - Six turkey vultures circling suburban neighborhood I passed through at 9 a.m.
August 8, 10 - Photographed Hummingbird Moth at butterfly bush.

Hummingbird Moth
Rick Marsi photo
 
August 9, 06 – RB Nuthatch calling.
August 9, 07 - Floated the Chenango, 7:45 a.m. to 10 a.m. Level at 1.95 feet. Bumped bottom a couple times but never had to get out of the boat to get through a riffle. Fog on the river. Birds still singing - yellow-throated vireo among them. Green herons squawking - a pair of them together. Also saw blue herons and kingfishers in pairs. Hen mallard with nine young. Three phoebes. Waxwings. Green-headed coneflower at its peak in clumps along bank. red-tailed hawk on the riverbank flies up to a dead stub in corn field.
August 9, 10 - Several Great Egrets still spending time on Chenango River, near towpath area off Rte. 88. Rivers are very low. Several dozen Ring-billed Gulls are seen daily in shallow riffle area along towpath section of the Chenango.

August 10 - 15, 08 - Trip to wilderness camp in Quebec, about 50 miles west of La Touque.
Bird List
Spruce Grouse (two males)
Ruffed Grouse
Boreal Chickadee
Red Crossbill (large flock flying across lake into spruce forest)
Evening Grosbeak
Black-capped Chickadee
Goldfinch|
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Magnolia Warbler
Raven
Merlin
Osprey
Loon
Ring-necked Duck
Hooded Merganser
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker

Butterfly List
White Admiral
Clouded Sulphur
Meadow Fritillary
Aphrodite Fritillary
Green Comma
Eastern Comma
Mourning Cloak

August 10, 10 - At CV State Park... Observed White Admiral butterfly, Ebony Jewelwing damselfly. Heard kingfisher, catbird and crow. First Gray and Silky Dogwood berries appearing.

August 11, 06 – Two rb nuthatches are now feeding at lower sunflower feeder. Very active and frequent visitors.
August 11, 07 - Japanese beetles continue their assault on Rose-of-Sharon foliage and flowers. Very few butterflies in the yard, although the butterfly bush is blooming profusely.

August 12, 07 - Friend in So. Montrose reports bobcat returned to his yardand caught a woodchuck there.

August 13, 06 – Chenango River float. Level perfect. Water very clear. Clear and cool weather. No fish. Saw a mink running down Chenango Rte. 32. Dark. Faster and smaller than a woodchuck. Pair of hooded merg young on river. Many waxwings.
At home, first monarch appeared around 4 p.m. It hung on wire until 9 a.m. the next morning when sunlight warmed it and off it flew down the cut in the driveway. Pileated flew right across lawn and 20 feet from me as I watered new grass. Landed in side woods on fallen aspen trunk. Had been calling front woods before that. A juvenile?
At a friend's house, I was standing on his deck around 4 p.m. Gazing skyward I noticed a commercial jet approaching quite low, headed for the airport. I asked my friend to look up and take note. As the jet passed over, I noted two birds of prey soaring very high, seemingly at the same altitude. After the jet passed, I continued watching the birds. One was huge, with black wings. When it soared in front of white clouds I could see nothing for a tail or head. But when it soared with blue sky behind it, I could clearly see the white head and tail of an adult bald eagle. The second bird was a red-tailed hawk, normally appearing large but dwarfed by the eagle. Very high in the sky. It made my day.
August 13, 07 - First migrating osprey sighted on the river.

August 14, 06 – Monarch flies away. Two other chrysalises getting very dark.
August 14, 07 - Red-breasted nuthatch visiting sunflower feeder. Two appeared last year at about the same time.
August 14, 09 – On the Otselic… Adult bald eagle perched in dead tree, wings drooping and extended, drying them. Hummingbird feeding on jewelweed nectar. Three juvenile green herons together.  Black swallowtail on Joe pye weed.

August 15 – Bear in the yard. 150 – 200 pounds. Feeder raid.

August 16, 08 - Hundreds of red pine cones have fallen and are littering the forest floor. Five great spangled fritillaries on the butterfly bush at one time. Hummingbird moth also a regular there.

August 17, 08 - On the river... Numerous green and blue herons. Huge flocks of redwing blackbirds in corn field. Also a large flock of what sounded like obolinks flying about. Wood pewee singing, but only briefly. Kingfisher dives from branch 15 feet above the river and catches a minnow. I'm only about 20 feet away. The bird goes under completely for a second before emerging with its prize. A female harrier sweeps in front of the kayak. Beautiful. Already migrating. Sneezeweed adds its yellow blooms to green-headed coneflowers along riverbank.
August 17, 09 – Screech owl gives three or four tremulous calls at 3 a.m.

August 18, 06 – Lesser yellowlegs on the Chenango River. Short call. Immature bald eagle there also. Very dark with white on the back. A few birds still singing: song sparrow, phoebe, tanager and yellow warbler. Blue jay bathes in garden pond.

August 19, 09 – Otselic at 2. Very high. Bunting, oriole, yt vireo still singing a bit. Great blue herons flying together. On the reservoir… Great egret perched near point at Upper Lisle Park. Turtle head growing along bank on way to point. Adult eagle lifts off Basset Road at spot where road-killed rabbit is lying. Viceroy butterfly on Joe pye weed.

August 20, 08 - On the river... Singing birds: red-eyed vireo, song sparrow, goldfinch, Carolina wren. Hundreds of cedar waxwings all along the river. Spotted sandpipers still present. Also observed migrating solitary sandpiper and greater yellowlegs (five-note call). Several sightings of mature bald eagle. Great lobelia and boneset identified. Also a nice clump of 5-6 cardinal flowers.

August 21, 08 - Encountered a young red fox while driving down forested road. Still quite small, it was trotting down the road when I approached; then veered off as I got closer. Cabbage butterflies working the nectar-bearing shrubs in yard, but other butterflies are absent.
August 21, 09 – On the river. Level at 1.5. Cool, clear and beautiful. At Smallmouth Run – 6 or 7 bass, three of which were about 12 inches. Also two 12-inch walleye and a rock bass. All caught in one hour on crayfish.

August 22, 06 – Squirrels chucking loudly at one another. Six chipmunks feeding below and around side yard feeder.
August 22, 07 – Male hummers appear to have left already. Much action around feeders but without males. Watched a hummer chase a mourning dove 100 yards at Upper Lisle – right on the dove’s tail.
August 22, 08 - Screech owls calling at 4:30 a.m. Calls sounded like young birds learning how to do it.
August 22, 09 – On the river… More good fishing. Several nice bass at riffler. Best 14 inches. For the first time, I fished the run below confluence of Merrill Brook and the river. Hooked two 15-16-inch bas on crayfish.
Photographed pollen-laden honeybees on sneezeweed. Acorns dropping from white oak in back yard.

August 23, 08 - Three great spangled fritillaries at butterfly bush. No monarchs sited in travels about the area.
August 23, 09 – Pair of ravens circling the house. Nice round circle, about 40 feet apart. Several times one bird would telescope its wings and dive down for two or three feet before re-opening them. When this happened, the other raven would croak. After circling for several minutes, the two broke away and winged their way south rapidly, disappearing quickly from view.

August 24, 08 - Female scarlet tanager foraging in shrub loaded with honeysuckle berries. Hummingbirds at monarda and trumpet vine regularly, but no males around.
August 25, 08 - Loud calling of crows at 5 p.m., interspersed with loud croaking of a raven. Quite close.

August 26, 06 – At a friend's in CT., photographed a spring peeper clinging to the side of his house. X on back visible. Also viewed flock of shorebirds foraging in tidal rocks along LI Sound near Madison. Semi-palmated and spotted sandpipers, turnstones and semi-palmated plover. Very tame. Many monarchs on butterfly bush in butterfly garden.
August 26, 08 - First "chuck chuck" calls of territorial gray squirrels heard this morning. Two hummingbirds actively feeding at feeders and chasing one another from them. 

August 27, 08 - Flock of a dozen common nighthawks migrating south at 6:30 p.m. Moving right along, fairly high, hawking insects as they went.
August 27, 09 – Otselic at 1.1 – clear and beautiful. Fished with Jeff in the morning. We both caught one nice 13-14-inch smallmouth, plus another 8-incher, a rock bass and two chub.

August 28, 06 – Huge pile of green Norway spruce cones at edge of brush pile. Red squirrels midden well-established.
August 28, 08 - Male hummingbird still here, feeding actively at window feeder. Japanese knotweed in full bloom along roadsides.

August 29, 06 – Screech owls calling late at night. 
August 29, 08- Raven calling loudly in morning. Have heard raven several times in the past week or so. 

August 30 – Adult Cooper’s hawk attacks doves at feeder.
August 30, 02 – Greater lobelia in several sections of trail at Robert Treman State Park. Gorge.
August 30, 08 - On the river... Several cormorants sighted. Also heard of them via e-mail this week from reader.
August 30 – 09 – Two ravens circling overhead, along with a broad-winged hawk. The ravens stayed close and occasionally came very near the hawk. They soared just as effortlessly as the broad-wing.

August 31, 07 – Paddled upriver from Greene to several good fishing spots. Caught a 27-inch pike on black jig. Also a small walleye. Caught a bass and small pike on crayfish crankbait. Kingfishers a constant presence. Several spotted sandpipers. Goldfinches drinking by the side of the river.
August 31, 08 - Great spangled fritillaries continue feeding on butterfly bush. Otherwise, still slow for butterflies. No monarchs sighted here or on local roadways.

SEPTEMBER

Sept. 4, 10 - In the evening, an overbird begins scolding loudly in thornapple at edge of woods. I can't determine the source of its discontent. The scolding attracts at least five juncos to the tree. Four of them are this summer's juveniles - an assurance that we've has a succesful nesting in the yard.

Sept 5, 10 - A monarch floats lazily through the yard - 70 degrees with a soft breeze. At least one hummingbird still here - not a male.

Sept. 8, 06  - Otselic River from Upper Lisle. Clear and low. Osprey circling. Pair of spotted sandpipers still on river. Many killdeer.
Sept. 8, 08 - Lone nighthawk observed migrating south at high altitude.
Sept. 8, 09 – Hummingbirds appear to be gone. We had two juv/females up until this week.

Sept. 9 – Reader observes 10 great egrets at Brick and Lockheed Martin ponds in Owego.
Sept. 9, 02. Very hot, 90. Low humidity, blue sky. Deer drinking at the garden pond.
Also on the river – a great egret - black legs.
Sept. 9, 08 - Hummingbird still here. Deer are "half and half" now - some have turned brown completely; some are still all rusty red; some have lost half their rust. Fawn spots fading but still visible.
Sept. 9, 09 – On the river…Paddled under a large silver maple, only to have an adult bald eagle take off from a limb no more than 20 or 30 feet over my head, then flew directly in front of me downriver. Solitary sandpiper observed. Also saw a spotted sandpiper.
Also, four nighthawks sighted over the Susquehanna at the Park Diner.

Sept. 10, 06 – On the river... Cool weather, NW wind.  Four least sandpipers wheeled in and landed on a gravel bar. I was sitting in kayak 10 feet away. All of us remained motionless for several minutes before I got up and they wheeled off downriver. Osprey on river. Friend describes seeing wheeling birds of prey high over Binghamton. Broadwings migrating.
Sept. 10, 08 - A pair of cormorants in flight over the Susquehanna. 
Sept. 10, 09 - Seven robins in the yard this morning. 

Sept. 11, 06 – Hummers appear to have departed.
Sept. 11, 08 - New England aster beginning to appear along roadsides. Black cherries on ground under large cherry trees in forest.
Sept. 11, 09 - Heard the nasal ank-ank of a red-breasted nuthatch in tree beelow the yard.

Sept. 12 , 08 - Flock of ten turkeys in yard - half adults and half young of the year. Received an e-mail from a friend who reports a black-throated blue warbler singing behind her house.
Sept. 12, 09 - Photographed New York asters along a wooded logging road.

Sept. 13, 08 - Hummingbird still here, feeding on last of monarda blooms. Sept. 13, 09 - Raccoon moseys through woods at edge of yard at 1 p.m. First sighting all summer here.

Sept. 14, 08 - Fawn at bird feeder shows eight spots left - on hind quarter.
Sept. 14, 09 - Hummingbird appears at feeder after no sightings for a week. Perhaps a migrant passing through. A pair of red-tailed hawks calling and circling overhead. By the the time I got my binoculars, they had disappeared to the south. Also migrants?

Sept. 15, 08 - Heard a red-tailed hawk calling overhead. Looked up to see it gliding low over the treetops. Immediately, a sharp-shinned hawk flew up from the woods to harass it as it slowly sailed sway.
Sept. 15, 09 - Received a photo from a reader - a giant puffball mushroom he had discovered in his woods. Diameter looked to be around 12 inches.

Sept. 16, 08 - First flocks of migrating Canada geese flew by, honking loudly. High winds from the west the night before reached 40 mph.
Sept. 16, 09 - Looked up when I heard a red-tailed hawk calling. Saw it swirling overhead, but also saw 10 turkey vultures quite close to it, cruising northward. It was late in the day. I surmised the vultures were heading toward a communal roost somewhere.

Sept. 17, 02
Tioghnioga River from Whitney Point to Chenango Forks. Adult and immature bald eagles spotted in same place we always see them. Immature had relatively distinct white band at base of tail. Good numbers of wood ducks and few mallards.
River very high from 3-inch rainfall in Cortland a few days ago.
Sept. 17, 08 - Catbird calling in thicket below house.
Sept. 17 - 09 - On the river. Water temp at 60 degrees. Water clear. Watched a sharp-shinned hawk bothering a soaring red-tailed hawk. The sharpie stayed right with the red-tail as it circled - never attacking it but always very close. A hour later, another sharp-shinned hawk appeared. This one had been perched in a riverside maple. It swooped out, dived to the bank and tried to catch a foraging spotted sandpiper. Missing the sandpiper, it crossed the river and perched briefly in another maple before flying downriver.

Sept. 18, 08 - Three blue jays feeding on fallen acorns in yard.
Sept. 18, 09 - Great egret at wetland area I frequent.

Sept. 19, 02.
Bear in yard at 8 a.m. Around 200 pounds. Sleek and pretty. I yelled and waved arms to keep it from feeder. No fear of me. It walked around the back of the house as we were sitting on the deck. Got to within around 40 feet of us.
Warblers in the trees.
On the river... 4-5 great egrets in backwater at park. Many wood ducks. In a group of seven, one beautiful drake. Collected sneezeweed, jerusalem artichoke, new york and new england asters. Photographed artichoke.
Hummingbird at the trumpet vine. A migrant? Haven’t seen on at the feeders for almost a week.
Sept. 19, 08 - Hummingbird still here, at blooms of trumpet vine.
Sept. 19, 09 - Raven making quite a racket in back woods around 6 p.m. Two different types of croaks. Then a mob of crows started making a real fuss on the other side of the road. In the middle of all the cawing, I heard more raven croaking. It really seems as if ravens have set up shop nearby, because I am hearing them several times a week these days.
On the Susquehanna... We pushed an osprey downriver three or four times. It would fly away from a tree perch as we approached, ;and in another tree several hundred yards downstream, then take off again we we got to that tree. Spotted sandpipers still on the banks. Saw another sharp-shinned hawk flying from one side of the river to the other. That's three on river trips this week.

Sept. 20, 08 - Staghorn sumac turning crimson. Dry weather of past weeks may hasten leaves and color this fall.
Sept. 20, 09 - Put the bird feeder back up after a summer without feeding. It took five minutes for the first customer - a chickadee - to discover it.

Sept. 21, 08 - Squirrels beginning to clip outer branchlets of red oaks. After doing so they go to the ground and get the attached acorns.
Sept. 21, 09 - White oak acorns continue to fall, and the deer continue coming to eat them. Red osier dogwood berries are turning a deep blue.

Sept. 22, 09 - At local wetland.. Juvenile bald eagle perched in dead tree. Two white streaks on face make it unique. Typically splotchy brown and white undersides. Five or six wood ducks sighted. Great egret still in attendance, hunting at lake's edge. Virginia creeper wine red.
Heard coyotes howling and yapping in back woods at 8 p.m. Their noises lasted two or three minutes.

Sept. 24, 08 - Lily Lake at Chenango Valley State Park. Ten-inch map turtle basking on tree leaning into the water. I got close in kayak to observe yellowing streaking on throat and legs. Ruby meadowhawk dragonfly landed on kayak. Inch-long abdomen bright red. One of the season's late dragonflies. Three pileated woodpeckers along shoreline. One called from from far side of lake, and a woodpecker on near side immediately crossed the lake to it. Observed two of the three birds feeding together, ten feet apart - both males, but one looked mature and the other's plumage wasn't as striking. Observed sunfish, small- and large-mouthed bass and perch in very clear water. Pair of phoebes, one singing, plus the call of a red-bellied woodpecker. One hooded merganser flew over.

Sept. 25, 08 - Raven heard calling from a bit up the road.

Sept. 26, 08 - Flock of 12-15 cedar waxwings flying about near sunset.
Sept. 26, 09 - Had a good look at yellow-shafted flicker. It was on the ground, seeking ants. No black mustache, so the bird was a female.

Sept. 27, 08 - Robins clucking late in the day. Haven't heard or seen a robin here for many days. Could these be migrants, settling in for the night after flying south during the day? Visited beaver pond in local state forest. A lone mallard in attendance.
Sept. 27, 09 - Observed three wood ducks feeding in wetland. Two were females with white teardrop. The other was a juvenile male, still working into adult male plumage. 

Sept. 28, 08 - Driveway littered with twigs from oak overhead. Gray squirrels cutting them down to get at their acorns.
Sept. 28, 09 - A nice 8-point buck appeared under the white oak at edge of back yard this morning. Feeding on acorns. Antlers looked reddish-brown, a sign they had just been rubbed free of velvet. Strong winds later in the day promised there would be many more acorns on the ground.

Sept. 29, 09 - Had to shoo a juvenile cardinal out of the garage. It was beating against a window. The black bill indicated a juvenile. Otherwise, it looked like a female. I finally got it pointed toward the garage door opening. When it saw the light, it flew quickly into the open.

Sept. 30 – 06
Harvested hen mushrooms at oak in backyard. Some of large ones already too far along, but still manage to collect a lot of good mushrooms.






 

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